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Just a year ago, Oklahoma City Thunder took the highest risk over the 10 years of the franchise's existence
with rumors swirling everywhere except OKC in 2017 , the Thunder came out of the shadows to land Paul George for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis. The motivation was obvious: the Thunder was on the right track, with a year to convince George that Oklahoma City was a place worth staying there. The chances were long. It was dangerous.
But at a private party held Saturday by Russell Westbrook in a mansion near Lake Arcadia, music from the great oaks of Oklahoma, George came on stage, fresh out of the woods. a private jet, and caught the microphone.
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"If you do not quite understand," said George with Westbrook wandering around him like a hype. "Let me repeat: I'm here to stay."
Westbrook held his hand to his ear while a crowd of about 500 fans roared. A few minutes later, the rapper Nas was on stage and the party was open. Paul George stays with the Thunder and, according to a report by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, for at least three years
It's puzzling to some that George would choose the Thunder without even giving a meeting to his hometown Los Angeles Lakers. Each sign designated him as signing with LA this summer – the first sign being that George informed the Pacers in 2017 that it was there that he would sign – but George chose OKC.
It's a memorable day for the franchise, just two summers after almost watching everything that they had built fall apart. Kevin Durant was gone, and the future of Westbrook was suddenly blurry. The Thunder was facing the reality of Westbrook's trade, until they convinced their superstar leader to sign an extension and stabilize the franchise. A year later, they traded for George, traded for Carmelo Anthony and signed Westbrook again, this time to a long-term agreement to keep him at OKC for the first years of his career.
There are two Durant summers in a meeting the day before the free agency started. They had also orchestrated, with a sign on the other side of the street saying, "Taking on Tomorrow, Today" with examples of how he raised the city on his shoulders and built a franchise. They told him about a jet powered aircraft on a runway, ready to go and recruit Al Horford together. Durant went off on his own jet and went to the Hamptons, and the rest is history.
It's a fairytale comeback, one that seemed impossible to remove. By pushing back the lure of Los Angeles, and the Lakers, and Magic Johnson and perhaps even a recruiting by LeBron James, the Thunder broke through the glass ceiling of the market stereotype. This kind of moment is not supposed to be possible. Because here, the Thunder are, with a pair of superstars, born and raised in Southern California, locked up in the long run in the early months of their careers, choosing to stay in Oklahoma.
The thunder carries a legacy of what … if with them, no matter where they go, to trade James Harden in 2012 to leave a 3-1 lead against the Warriors in 2016, which led to the exit of Durant in free agency. But with George planting a flag with the franchise, they are building a new legacy to reinvent the tale of a small market. Something has been built in the middle of America that, for some reason, resonates with superstar talent and massive brands. Of course, it takes another type of person and player to register, and that corresponds to Westbrook and George
There is obviously pressure to win, and the Thunder's disappointing 48-season season a year ago did not go as planned. They thought they'd have something better to sell to George in terms of success, but with bumpy chemistry on the ground and a devastating injury to Andre Roberson, the Thunder went on fire in the first round. George assured everyone that he did not have the spirit of championship or bust. It was in the long run – what could be built, how they could grow.
George is betting on evolution. He is banking on Westbrook's growth. He bet Presti still has some magic levers to shoot. But with the contract not being one-plus-one – or even two plus one, as expected a lot – George relieves some of the roaring pressure that has been in OKC for the past four years. Every season and summer was full of questions about a star throwing them or all disintegrating in their face. Now the franchise and the entire state can expire. They can moor their boat in the harbor and, for at least a few years, enjoy a list built on Westbrook, George and Steven Adams.
Presti likes to talk about the "canvas" the Thunder has been working on since they arrived at OKC a decade ago. Their first season was not good – 23 wins – but it was the potential of a young formation. From then on, there was talk of trajectory – the Thunder became good and fast. They have been successful for 10 years, and with Westbrook and George they have guaranteed at least one good team for a few others. 
Here is the last summer of another thrilling summer in the NBA:
The questions of whether they are good and whether a Westbrook-George couple can win a title can be asked, at least for a few minutes. Like Westbrook before, George's stay is a victory in itself. It's a win for the organization on a cultural scale, validating so much of what it has invested.
The thunder trade for George was a bet on themselves, a move that involved the culture and values of the organization. They believed that they could sell George by staying because they were confident in what he was walking. The infrastructure, attention to detail, first-class nature of everything – they knew what it would take in Oklahoma City.
But with a star player like Westbrook, a committed property group and a risk-averse front office, George essentially spent the season impressed. It started with another part – the Thunder really went, apparently – the day after George 's official arrival at OKC last July. With a complicated choreographic plan to knock down George's socks, the Thunder started recruiting at his welcome party.
He continued throughout the season, with the feeling that as early as the training camp, OKC could be a place George could stay in the long run. It always seemed far – fetched, with subtleties being told in front of the pickups, but once the free agency was open, all that talk was just like that. George had no control over the fact that the Thunder was trading for him; he would have control of his free will.
But George never really hesitated. He liked OKC. He liked the franchise. He loved head coach Billy Donovan. He loved Westbrook. And he loved Presti. The free agency is to choose where you want to play. Paul George chose Oklahoma City.
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